


Beneath the Surface

by unrealistically



Category: 13 Reasons Why (TV)
Genre: Alex and Justin have never met prior to this, Alternate Universe, Bartender!Alex, Exotic Dancers, Justin and Alex are 21, M/M, Tapes never happened, strip club
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-05-30
Updated: 2017-05-30
Packaged: 2018-11-06 15:15:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11038812
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unrealistically/pseuds/unrealistically
Summary: Alex is just the bartender at a strip club, yet Justin finds him more captivating than any of the dancers.





	Beneath the Surface

**Author's Note:**

> New story! Not sure how I'll continue it but we'll see.

Everyone knew that Justin worked the hardest in the office. He stayed after hours everyday, got work done quickly and on time, and only had Saturdays and Sundays off each week. So when Friday night rolled around and Justin was preparing to leave, his coworker Bryce wanted to treat him to a fun night out, so Bryce told him to stay back for a bit.

"Justin, my man," his coworker Bryce said, slurring his words. Justin nearly rolled his eyes, taking note of Bryce's drinking habit even when he was in the office. "You're fuckin' awesome, my dude. You got so much done this week."

Justin would've appreciated the compliment if it didn't come from Bryce himself. Bryce was known to be an overly aggressive shit-dick when things didn't go his way in the office, and he also had anger management issues, but his father was the owner of the company they were working for, so Bryce was never warned for his actions. He thought it was completely ridiculous when Bryce didn't get in trouble when he threw a printer against the wall in a heated rage because it wasn't responding, but he didn't speak up about it because he didn't want to be fired.

"Thanks," Justin plainly said as he was packing up to leave. "It's not like I have a lot of other things to do anyways."

Bryce grinned at this. "No plans tonight I'm assuming, then?" Justin shook his head and furrowed his brow, clearly confused why Bryce would ask him of all people. They barely exchanged words and only nodded to each other occasionally when they went to each other's cubicles.

"Why do you ask?" Justin asked, closing his briefcase shut and looking back at Bryce, who was still grinning.

"I figured after all the hard work you've been doing in the office, you deserve a fun night out," Bryce said while walking to the coat rack and grabbing his suit jacket. "What do you say?"

Justin contemplated this. He really didn't have much to do when he got home. He lived in a decent apartment, small but cozy. It was good for one person, and the rent was cheap. He thought about what he was going to do when he got home. Go home, heat up a frozen dinner, and watch some TV shows. He wrinkled his nose at the thought, noting that this was basically all he did when he got home from an exhausting day from work. He never really had the energy to hang out with his other friends like Zachary or Marcus, because he was too tired to do much of anything when he arrived home so he always turned down their offers.

He didn't work that much today, considering it was a Friday, therefore he wasn't really tired from the office. He glanced at the clock, which read 8:47PM. Justin shrugged.

"What would we do?" He asked, not knowing if he'd regret even considering hanging out with Bryce. Bryce's eyes lit up and he gave a devilish smirk.

"That is a surprise," Bryce said as he started to put on his jacket. "But trust me, it's going to be the best night of your life." Justin chuckled with unease.

"Alright, alright," Justin said, following Bryce out the door as he turned off the office lights and locked the door behind them. "When are we going?"

They walked out to the parking lot as Bryce responded. "I'll pick you up at your house in an hour or two, just send me your address by text." Justin nodded and they parted ways, waving each other a temporary farewell. Justin shook his head, slightly nervous about where they were going to go. He remembered Bryce's face when he asked what they would do and gulped, hoping they wouldn't go anywhere too bad.

* * *

 Justin decided to go casual, and wore a simple baseball t-shirt and dark blue jeans. He styled his hair and shaved his face for the second time that week. He considered plucking his eyebrows as well until he heard the loud honk of a car outside of his window. He looked through the blinds and saw Bryce in his car, who was beckoning him impatiently to come down. Justin turned off the lights in his house while grabbing his wallet and keys. He locked the door and started walking down the steps, but sped down them as he heard the familiar honk of Bryce's car again. He walked to Bryce's car and entered, shutting the door in the process.

"Are you gonna tell me where we're going?" Justin asked with seriousness in his voice. Bryce gave a small laugh as he started the car and drove off from his driveway.

"You'll find out, man," Bryce said as he focused his attention on the road. "Don't worry 'bout it." Justin noted of Bryce's appearance and saw that he was wearing black sweatpants and a collared shirt. He also didn't seem as drunk as he was two hours ago, so Justin was thankful of that, considering Bryce was the one behind the wheel. They made small casual talk about work and things of the sort as they drove.

About twenty or so minutes later, Bryce drives through a seemingly deserted alleyway and they came upon a wide area of parking spaces as well as a lit up building, and they finally arrived at their destination. Bryce parked up front and that's where Justin got a closer look at the building.

_The Bunny Chicks_

Justin widened his eyes as he recognized the familiar name. He inspected the building. The name was lit with neon lights and there was a bodyguard outside of the entrance, who was smug and tough looking. He took note of many ladies who were smoking near the front, dressed in little to no clothing. He looked at a sign that hung on one of the dark and dim windows that said "Strip Show" and his nightmares were confirmed.

They were at a strip club.

As if on cue, Bryce spoke up.

"Before you puss out on me," Bryce said while getting out of the car after he counted the bills in his wallet. "I already paid our reservation and it'll be a waste if you don't go in with me. And I also have the car keys, so.." Justin visibly gulped, as he had never been to a strip club, let alone a club before. He narrowed his eyes at Bryce, causing Bryce to chuckle. Bryce started walking to the entrance, and Justin got out of the car, locking the door and he then reluctantly followed.

They got to the entrance, but were stopped by the bodyguard.

"ID's," the man said with boredom in his voice. Bryce and Justin were quick to fetch their ID's from their wallet, and they both showed them to him. He inspected both of them quickly and nodded, looking at his clipboard. He found Bryce's and Justin's name on the reservation list and he grinned, moving aside and gesturing towards the inside of the club, seemingly welcoming them in. They both went in, Justin more hesitant than Bryce, and they are hit with the overwhelming scent of alcohol, sweat, sex and cigarette smoke. Justin pinches his nose, fighting the urge not to throw up. Bryce rolled his eyes and walked to an empty table, Justin following after him.

Justin took the time to take note of their surroundings. He saw a stage with multiple poles attached, multiple lap dances going on at the tables around him along with people cheering the person who was receiving the dance on, a bar at the center of the strip club, and many girls with skimpy outfits who were serving drinks to the tables, being extra flirtatious to the customers. Justin wrinkled his nose and averted his eyes away.

They reached their table and sat down. A girl instantly walked to them, who was wearing a tight black body stocking and bunny ears. Her hair was in a long ponytail and she had a flirty grin on her face as she approached the two of them. Justin resisted the need to sink into his seat, not wanting to talk to any strip club worker. He sat still though, as she arrived at the table.

"Hey there," she said with a soft voice. Justin internally cringed as she spoke, and Bryce was too busy looking at her body to hear her speak. "What can I get for you two hunks tonight?"

Just as Justin was about to order a drink, Bryce interrupted.

"I'd love a dance with you, beautiful," Bryce murmured while staring down her body. Justin widened his eyes and looked at the girl's reaction, expecting a look of disbelief and shock that he'd be so blunt about it, but she only grinned and whispered in his ear. It was Bryce's turn to grin.

"Consider it done," Bryce said as he got up. Justin gave him an incredulous look as they started to walk away together. They went into a room that was located near the stage, and Justin didn't want to know what they were going to do there. Justin groaned and looked around, hoping not to attract the attention of any waitresses. He gave a breath of relief as he saw none around, and he considered his options.

One, he could hide in the bathroom or wait in the car for however long until Bryce would be done at this shitty place they called a strip club, or walk home, which would take at least an hour. Or he could also just enjoy himself..

He shook his head at the latter. He did not want to be here at all.

However, he could use a drink or two.

Justin got up from his seat at the booth and walked to the center of the club, where the bar was located. He took note of the empty booths and the bartender, who was sitting on the other side of the bar and scrolling through his phone. Justin raised a brow in surprise, seeing that the bartender was a guy. He'd think that a strip club with only female dancers would hire a female bartender too. He sat down, which startled the bartender. The bartender jumped in surprise and knocked over a bottle of tequila that was placed beside him, causing its contents to spill all over the counter. Justin laughed as the bartender started to blush and quickly wipe at the mess with a rag.

"Shoot, I'm so sorry," the guy said sheepishly and apologetically while still wiping up the spill. "I don't usually have many customers over here, so I didn't expect anybody. God, I'm such an idiot."

Justin frowned at this. "I'm sure you're not an idiot. Maybe clumsy, but not an idiot." The bartender gave a small smile at this as he tossed the rag into a bin.

"Thanks, I guess," he said, looking down at the ground, clearly embarrassed. "So.. what can I get you?"

Justin shrugged. "Surprise me. Nothing too strong, though." The bartender nodded and turned, back facing Justin. He started to prepare a drink for Justin, which gave Justin time to inspect the bartender in front of him.

The bartender wore simple attire, he had on tight black jeans that hugged his legs, a white shirt with a black cardigan covering it, and also wore a bunny ear headband to add on top of that. His hair color interested him the most, as it was a color of pale blonde, a color he'd never seen on hair before. Justin continued to look him up and down, eyes stopping on his legs.

_Those legs.._

Justin looked up at the bartender just in time as he turned around, finished with making his drink. The bartender reddened and scratched his head.

"Why are you staring?" He asked self consciously, causing Justin to grin. "Is it cause of the ears?" He took off the headband and set it aside, shaking his head and murmuring. "Don't know why I'm supposed to wear them if I'm not even a stripper.."

"You want to be a stripper?" Justin asked with surprise in his voice. The bartender reddened even more as he nodded meekly.

"Pays way better than what I'm doing right now," he said as he passed the drink over to Justin. "Plus, I know how to work a pole." Justin nearly growled in lust as he imagined the boy in front of him stripping for him, but shook his head from the dirty thoughts. Justin only nodded and took a sip of his drink, noting of it's sweet and sour taste.

"Hope you like it," The bartender said as he wiped down the counters. "It's my favorite. It's called the New York Sour. It has bourbon whiskey, red wine and a hint of lemon in it."

"It's good," Justin nodded. The bartender smiled cutely, seemingly proud of himself. Justin smiled warmly at that. He decided to break the ice. "So, what's your name?"

The bartender's face flushed as he started to clean the spare glasses that were left in the sink. "I'm Alex. Though some people here call me 'The Twink with Nice Legs'." Alex said jokingly as he shook his head in slight disgust. Justin chuckled, though he didn't disagree with them.

"Well I'm Justin," he said, holding out his hand. "Pleasure to meet you." Alex hesitantly shook his hand, still red from their conversation.

"I don't know why I chose to work here," Alex muttered, seemingly to himself and Justin. "It's embarrassing being the only boy who works here, and I barely get tips or customers because the guys are too busy getting a lap dance or whatever-the-fuck they do. Also adding the fact that guys that go to a strip club would rather tip a female bartender than a male one.."

"Well you're cute," Justin said, pretty much tipsy just from the drink. This made Alex blush even harder than he had ever did before. "Surely you've attracted the attention of some guys?"

"I guess," he said while drying his hands on a hand towel. "But the guys here are assholes. They just demand drinks and sometimes even a lap dance from me. I had to get the manager one time when a guy was being too forceful when they asked me to give them a dance." Alex shuddered as he recalled the memory and turned his back to Justin again as he started to make himself a drink. Justin raised a brow at this.

"Damn, I'm sorry about that." He said. Alex just shrugged, seemingly used to it already.

"It's what I get for choosing a strip club of all places to work," He said as he turned around and took a sip of his drink. "At least I get free drinks, though." Justin smirked at this and raised his glass towards Alex.

"Cheers to drinking then." Justin said. Alex grinned and returned the toast, and they drank the rest of their drinks in unison.

"I do need to close up the bar though," Alex said as he placed his empty glass in the sink and started to put the bottles of alcohol back on the shelves. "My shift ends in a couple minutes." Justin nodded, slightly disappointed that they didn't get to bond over drinks like he would've preferred.

"Are you going to stay? I saw your friend go into the backroom with one of our dancers Lorraine, so I doubt they'll be out soon." Justin frowned, knowing that Bryce was the one with the keys.

"I don't know how I'm gonna get home," he said while rubbing his forehead in frustration. "The walk will take forever and he's the one with the keys." Alex gave him a look of sympathy as he continued to finish cleaning the bar.

"Well, there's a bus stop nearby. I always take the bus to get here." He put the cleaning supplies away and grabbed his jacket. He put it on as Justin got up from the stool too. Alex fought the urge not to beam as he saw that Justin wasn't going to stay. He just smiled and walked out the strip club, with Justin following behind him.

Justin took out his phone and texted Bryce.

_I'm gonna head home early, taking the bus. See you at work on Monday, man._

They walked the couple minutes to the bus stop and they both sat down side by side on the bench, ignoring the 11PM cold air. Justin took note of Alex's obvious exhaustion and tiredness. As Justin was about to break the silence, he felt a heavy weight on his left shoulder. He curiously looked over and saw Alex, who was softly leaning his head on his shoulder. He could hear Alex's soft snoring. Justin raised a brow and hesitantly wrapped an arm around Alex, pulling him closer.

"I'll wake you when the bus comes, alright?" Justin asked with a soft voice. Alex sleepily nodded and continued to doze. Justin smiled warmly and just continued to look at the cute bright haired boy who was using his shoulder as a pillow.

There was a warm feeling at the bottom of his stomach. It was kind of like how people talk about butterflies in their stomach, or how they talk about the fireworks or sparks they feel when they meet the love of their life.

It confused him.

**Author's Note:**

> kudos + comments would be kindly appreciated, thanks!
> 
> See you next chapter! This will be an ongoing story so stay tuned!


End file.
